My first 10 Deathrattle Skeletons for my Legion of Blood collection of Soulblight Gravelords are ready! These classic skeleton warriors have no end of flash, but are super modular and wickedly fun to assemble. More in this post.
I was already in love with these models during Warhammer Fantasy. When the classic Vampire Counts Skeleton Warriors came out many years ago, I was really impressed by the kit and its design. The realistic proportions, the rusted and dented weapons, the way the tattered clothes and belts dangle around the bones – it was really bone… erm groundbreaking back then.
Back then I bought a megaforce of Skeleton Warriors, but never got around painting them and sold them at some point. But Warhammer Quest: Cursed City, which will be re-released soon, inspired me to add some Deathrattle Skeletons to my Nighthaunt. I decided to go with the old Warriors, also because they go so well with Grave Guard, of which I have already painted a few.
As you might notice, I made a few swaps with parts from the Grave Guard set, for example, the horn of the musician. I even used a few skulls from the Citadel Skulls set. The shields come from the Von Carstein Finecast shield pack that was released during Warhammer Fantasy’s 7th Edition. Sadly, both the classic Skeleton Warriors nor Von Carstein shields are no longer available, so you have to look on ebay or facebook groups for them.
I used Wraithbone primer for these models, then washed the bone with Wyldwood thinned with a lot of Contrast Medium, before adding a highlight of Pallid Wych Flesh. The tattered clothes are painted to match the spectral bodies of my Nighthaunt. You can find a complete list of paint recipes here, and don’t forget to check out my bone tutorial:
A detailed 16 page PDF tutorial for painting these models can also be found on my Patreon.
I hope you enjoyed this bone-crunching trip down memory lane, please leave a reaction below, and tell me in the comments which iteration of Skeleton Warriors is your favourite.
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